Alcoholic beverages are an important class of consumer goods. Recently, a trend toward beverages of lower alcohol content has developed due, in part, to the public's increasing health-consciousness and the social and legislative initiatives against drunk driving. Changes in demographics and consumer preferences have also led to contraction in certain segments of the liquor and spirits business.
In response, makers of alcoholic beverages have introduced low-alcohol beers and wines to the market. These products are made either by altering the fermentation process to generate less ethanol, or by processing conventionally made beverages to remove part of their alcohol content. However, such low-alcohol beverages have proven to be lower in quality than their counterparts with normal alcohol content. Stopping fermentation prematurely usually changes the relative concentrations of the reaction products essential to the character of the beverage. Alternatively, removing alcohol from a normal beverage with conventional processes usually results in significant losses of flavor components from the beverage. The need continues to exist, therefore, for improved technologies that are capable of efficient alcohol reduction while preserving the character of the original beverages.